Ruling expected Friday in charter schools lawsuit

BATON ROUGE - A state district judge says he will rule Friday on whether he'll issue a preliminary injunction to keep some charter schools from getting $60 million under Louisiana's public school financing formula.

Judge Wilson Fields heard testimony and arguments Wednesday in the case and said he would take two days before announcing his decision.

At issue is the funding steered to 33 charter schools that were authorized by the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

The Louisiana Association of Educators union claims in a lawsuit that the spending violates the state constitution because those charter schools are created and operated outside of parish and city school systems.

Supporters say the schools offer more educational opportunities to students. Public school systems say they take needed money away from their schools.

News 2's Troy Gaulden will have more on the lawsuit during our 5 p.m. broadcast.